Metal-enclosed switchgear



2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MarK A HVhy/e. @WW

ATTORN M A PRINGLE METAL-ENCLOSED SWITCHGEAR April 18, 1950 Filed June 30, 1947 WITNESSES: 22

April 18, 1950 M. A. PRHNGLE METAL-ENCLOSED SWITCHGEAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 50, 1947 v Inga/079$ INVENTOR Mark A Pr/hy/e E ATTO EY Patented Apr. 18., 1950 E2504Q87i6 ."M'ETAL-ENC-EOSED iSWITCHGEAR ."Markyn.;I?rin-gle,.iil1eancck,j Nola, assignor to West;-

'inghouse:Electric...(3orporation, East -Bittshurgh, :Ba.,. a corporationf Pennsylvania Application 'J'une*30, 1947; Serial No."*l'58,201

( Cl. e200-150i .8Claims.

'My-inventicn --relates, :generally, tozswitchgear apparatus and, more particularly, .to. switchgear apparatus of the metal enclosed type wherein ail energized parts are normally enclosed within *metafl "housings or casings.

There are frequently applications or switchgear apparatus to systems having two :main sources of power and only one ortwo'iee'der cir- "cuits'eac'h having anelectrically closed circuit breaker. Suchan installation does not justify :the expense nor the size of 1 structure necessary --when apparatus for two complete auxiliary power sources is provided.

.An object of "my invention, genera'lly stated. is 'toyprovide-a metal-enclosed switchgear structure which shal-l be simple "and efficient "in 4 operration and which-maybe economically manufac- *tnred-andiinstalled.

A'morespecific object of my inventlon is'to provide. ,for selectively connectinr;-=a--power translating device-to onecr the other of two power circuits.

'Another cbiect. of my invention is "to'provide metal-(enclosed switchgear unitsof the horizontal idlfawout type suitable 'for making electrical "connectionstozone or the otherbut not bother-two .jpower circuits.

,A'iurther object of mylnvention is to provide Iii-'0 formechanically'interlockinga pair ofselcctlvel-y The actuated to the engagedposition in its cell by closing its celldoor. "The other unitiremains ;in the disengaged position when its .cell dooris qclcsed. the .yfuse units .may "be "utilized etc connect a power translatingidellifle to one .0: a :the -.dther:cf *twop wer sources.

, iEor :a'ihe'tter understanding. .0! :the nature "and an ec'ts of invention. reference may be ljiiad :to the followin detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. in which:

I Figure "1 is :a view, partially in side elevation and partially "in section, "of a switchgear struc- '=t ur e embodying the principal 'featuresmi my invention; I

drawout metal-enclosed in section of :a. portion cf- :the structure :shown F'igs. I and '2, the switchgear structure shown therein comprisesa sheet rmetal :cell 'for housing Hi which :may be divided intottwo compartments H and i2. The upper compartment H is provided-witha door lawhichis hinged at '14 and the lower compartment-ills provided withaa door t5 which .is hinged ati6. Th'ehousing It may ibB-riO'f the "usual construction comprising "angle frame -:members l 'l, side plates 18 and :a top plate IS.

AS explained*hereinbefore it is frequently 'de- *sirable to provide forenergizing a transformer 'orother power translating :device from either one of two sources of power. In order to 'do this, it is -'-necessary to provide some kind of switching-apparatus for selectively connecting {the transformer to one or "the other of the two sources of power and also for preventing the 'transiormerfrom being connected to bothsources 7' atthe sametime.

Thus, as illustrated schematically in Fig. "3, a transformer T maybe connected either to a power source *A-orto a power source B through --swltching'devices X and Y, respectively. As in- :dicatedlcy the dotted line, -the-devices X and'Y are "so interlocked that only one of them can betclosed at a-time.

'In'accordancewith myinvention, the switching'fdevices X-andY are current'limiting fuses which function to protect the transformer T :against excessive amounts of current and are so mounted in'the "housing 10 that only one set of fuses can 'be connected-at a time. As shown in Fig.3, the "transformer T is connected tothe power source "13 through the fuses Y which. are

:in the "energized position.

If :it is desired to connect the transformer tothe "power source A, the fuses Y must first be vmoved to the deenergized position and the jiuses 72! then 'mrme'd to the energized position. Thus, as iprevionsly explained, the, fuses-provide :a means of selectively connecting the transformer to *onecr the cther-"of two sources of pcwer and also protect thetransformer against overload conditions.

*As 'shown inFigs. "1 'andZ, the fuse assembly"?! comprises "a "plurality of Times 2'! which are mounted 'in fus-e clips 22 of the usual type. The

clips-T22 are supported by insulating members]! ings-2 is a'yiew;'partlallyin-pianvand partially "which are mounted upon a bracket -24. *The H by means of a pair of links 55. ,each link 55 is pivotally connected to the door l3 and the other end is provided with a pin 56 which ;is disposed in a slot 51 provided in an arm 58, one

bracket 24 is secured to a movable truck 25 which rests upon rollers 26 rotatably mounted on angle bars 21 which, in turn, rest upon angle bars 28 secured to the sides of the housing In.

One terminal of each fuse 2| is electrically connected to a contact member 3| which is disposed to engage a contact member 32 when the truck 25 is'moved inwardly in the'compartment The contact member 32 is supported by an insulating member 33 secured to the back wall l8 of the housing It). As shown, a power conducto'rl 34 may be connected to the contact member 32.

As shown in Fig. 2, the other terminal 'of each fuse 2| is electrically connected to another con tact member 3| through a c'onductor 35. Thus, when the truck 25 is moved inwardly in the com partment to cause all of the contact members 3| to engage their cooperating contact members 32, electrical circuits are established through the fuses 2|. The contact members 32 may be con- :nected to the proper power conductors by connecported by insulators 43 which are mounted upon :a bracket 44. 45 which rests upon rollers 46 rotatably mounted The bracket 44 is secured to a truck on angle bars 41. As shown, the angle bars 41 J are supported by the angle bars H which are secured to the sides of the housing Ill.

The terminalsof the fuses 4| are connected to contact members which are disposed to engage contact members 52 when the truck 45 is moved The contact-" inwardly into the compartment l2. members 52 are mounted upon insulators 53 secured to the wall |8 of the housing It). Power conductors 54 may be co .-members 52.

nnected to the I contact The truck may be moved inthe compartment One end of end of which is secured to a horizontal shaft 59 rotatably mounted in brackets 6| secured to the ,rear wall ll! of the housing ID.

In order to move the truck-25 inwardly in the .compartment II, it is necessary to cause the pin 56 to be disposed between the legs of a U-shaped .bracket 62 which is secured to the front end of the truck 25. This may be done in a manner .which will be more fully described hereinafter.

The truck 45, which is shown fully inserted into Q the compartment ll may be moved outwardly by .means of a pair of links 65. -link 55 is pivotally connected to the door I5 and One end of each the other end is provided with a pin 66 which is disposed in a slot 61 provided in an arm 68, one

.end of which is secured to a shaft 68 which is rotatably mounted in brackets 1|. As shown, the

.pin 66 is disposed between the legs of a U-shaped 5 bracket 12 which is secured to the front end .of the ,truck 45.

If it is desired to disengage the fuses 4| from it is necessary to open both of the doors l3 and I5."

:Since. the truck. 25 isalready in. its outermost position in the compartment and the fuses 2| are deenergized, the truck 25 is not moved by the opening of the door l3. However, the opening of the door- |5 causesthe truckto be withte one of the arms 68 by a link 16. and 16 are so connected to the arms 58 and 66,

4 drawn to a position corresponding to that of the truck 25, as shown in Fig. 1.

A selector lever 13, one end of which extends exteriorly of the housing I0, is then raised upwardly to the position shown by the broken lines in Fig. 1. The lever 13 is supported by a bracket 14 which may be secured to one of the angle bars 21. The bracket 14 is the fulcrum for the lever 13.

' As shown, the lever 13 is connected to one of the arms 58 by a link 15. The lever 13 is connected The links 15 respectively, that the arm 58 is lowered and the arm 68 is raised when the lever 13 is actuated to *the position shown by the broken lines in Fig. 1. Thus, the pins 66 are disengaged from the brackets 12 and the pins 56, which have been moved to a position directly above the brackets 62 byopening the door |3, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 1, are lowered into the brackets 62.

Since both of the arms 58 which control the operation of the links aresecured to the shaft 59, it will be seen that both links 55 are moved simultaneously by the operation of the lever 13. Likewise, since both of the arms 68 are secured to the horizontal shaft 69, both of the links 65 are moved simultaneously by the operation of the single lever 13.

I The truck 25 may then be moved inwardly by closing the door l3. Since the links 65 have been disengaged from the truck 45, the truck remains in its outermost position in the compartment when the door I 5 is closed.

As shown in Fig. 1, an interlocking member 11 is secured to the arm 58. The member 11 is so .disposed that it blocks inward movement of the truck 25 when the arm 58 is in its raised position. Thus, the truck 25 cannot be inadvertently moved inwardly to cause the contact members 3| to engage the contact members 32.

Furthermore, by referring to Fig. 2, .it will b seen that the member 11 will extend underneath the truck 25 when the arm 58 is lowered and the truck is fully inserted into the housing ID. A similar interlocking member 16 is secured to the arm 68. The member 18 extends underneath the truck 45, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, it is necessary for both trucks to be in their outermost positions in the housing before the lever 13 can be actuated from one position to the other.

Therefore, both doors must be open before the pins 66 can be disengaged from the brackets 12 .and the pins 56 engaged in the brackets 62 or vice versa. The interlocking member 18 also functions to prevent the truck 45 from being inadvertently moved inwardly when the pin 66 is disengaged from the bracket 12.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that I have provided a switchgear structure which permits fuse assemblies to be utilized for both protecting electrical apparatus and selectively connecting the apparatus to vdiiTerent power conductors. By utilizing the present structure, it 'becomes unnecessary to provide other switching means for selectively connecting the apparatus to the.desired powersourcaf While the, present .structure has been illustrated and describedin .'.connection with a.power transformer, it, is not lnecessarily limited thereto. and may be utilized "for other applications.

Since numerous changes may be-made in-the above-described construction and different em bodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof it is intended that all matter contained in the fore going description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment. link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, and a single means extending exteriorly of the compartments and operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively connecting one or the other of said link means to its respective truck.

2. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, and lever means operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck.

3. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, and lever means extending exteriorly of the compartments and operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck.

4. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, and a single means extending exteriorly of the compartments and operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck.

5. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, lever means operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck, and interlocking means for blocking inward movement of the disengaged truck.

6. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, lever means operable only when both of said doors are open for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or dis engage its respective truck, and interlocking means actuated by said lever means for blocking inward movement of the disengaged truck.

7. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, manually operable lever means for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck, and interlocking means for blocking inward movement of the disengaged truck and for preventing the operation of said manually operable lever means unless both trucks are moved outwardly beyond a predetermined point in the compartments.

8. In switchgear apparatus, in combination, a pair of compartments, a truck movably disposed in each compartment, a hinged door for each compartment, link means for connecting the door for each compartment to the truck in that compartment to move the truck within the compartment, manually operable lever means for selectively causing one or the other of said link means to engage or disengage its respective truck, and interlocking means carried by said manually operable lever means for blocking inward movement of the disengaged truck and for preventing the operation of said manually operable lever means when either truck is moved inwardly beyond a predetermined point in its compartment.

MARK A. PRINGLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,496,751 Wood June 3, 1924 1,596,513 Ainsworth Aug. 17, 1926 1,718,374 Oberst June 25, 1929 1,928,460 Paxton et al Sept. 26, 1933 2,128,648 Johansson Aug. 30, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 681,946 Germany Oct. 11, 1939 

